New research investigating the legality of on-pack health claims on commercially-available meal replacement shakes for sale in the United Kingdom, reveals that more than three-quarters are unauthorised and do not comply with EU Nutrition and Health Claims regulations.
This is one of the first studies to analyse how package labelling claims on meal replacement products (MRP) stack up to current regulation, and how much consumers understand and are influenced by such claims. Of the 50 MRP shakes identified, only 3 brands met all of relevant compositional and labelling requirements. Almost 80% of all nutrition and health (NH) claims made were not compliant with the EU Nutrition and Health Claims regulation.
To gauge consumers understanding of on-pack NH claims, an internet-based questionnaire was used. A total of 240 respondents completed the questionnaire, of which 57% reported to be currently on a diet or had been on one in the last 6 months. The NH claims reported to be the most understood by the cohort were ‘low fat’ (95%), ‘low calorie (95%)’ and ‘high protein (94%). The least understood NH claims were ‘protects against chronic diseases’ (48%) and ‘low GI’ (53%). The majority of on-pack claims were perceived by respondents as not being true.
Presenting the findings at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Vienna, Austria last week, the authors said the data “highlights the need for tighter regulation of MRP with regards to both their composition and labelling but also to prevent the use of unsubstantiated NH claims on-pack, so as to protect consumers and ensure fair market competition."
